rallyrecap
GEARS Training at the Rally By Richard Klain #22237
AS A LONG-TIME MOA MEMBER and occasional Owners News contrib- utor, I’ve attended the MOA National rally when it’s within a thousand miles or so from the “Left Coast.” Anyone who’s wandered the rally grounds has seen an area cordoned off with a sign about something called GEARS Training. Until I recently looked it up on the web, it was somewhat of a mystery. All I knew was that it was some sort of motorcycle safety training for younger riders. What I discovered is that GEARS stands for “Gaining Early Advanced Riding Skills” and was scheduled for the two days pre- ceding the start of the 2015 rally in Billings, Montana. GEARS Training has changed a bit
from previous years. The 2015 camp was the first with the new format, with the MOA Foundation providing motorcycle safety training and expe- rience for those in the 14-18 year old range before the rally, while also offering “refresher” and other train- ing (in future years) to those who are
Karen Umphress, an MSF instructor from DirtBike Tech, demonstrates body positioning.
older, both during the rally as well as at other times during the year. The day before the beginning of GEARS
Training, I expected to see a bunch of teens pitching tents. In reality, most “camped” with their parents in an RV, motel or tent somewhere nearby on the Billings Metra- Park fairgrounds.
On the first day of GEARS training, everyone gathered to get GEARS underway. Twelve GEARS participants were split into two groups of six. This number was flexible because some GEARS par- ticipants arrived late or left early, and a couple of GEARS graduates showed up to help out. The average GEARS participant age was 15, with most too young for a driver’s license, let alone a
motorcycle license endorsement, but many had off-road riding experience. The curriculum’s main components were
an interesting mix of classroom and practi- cal experience split into two, half-day and quarter-day sessions for each group. There was lots of active, hands-on instruction which couldn’t help but engage teen interest and interaction. After the morning introductions, I joined
the first group heading to the range. Once there, students were assigned dirt bikes to ride and practiced basic skills like starting, stopping, turning, and using their bodies for balance and control. Karen Umphress, an MSF instructor from DirtBike Tech in Minnesota, was responsible for
the on-
range instruction as well as post-ride semi- nars. Bruce Sanders, MOA Foundation Director and Secretary, also pitched in to help. It was fun going out and watching the first group on the range the first day.
Practicing accident scene management.
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BMW OWNERS NEWS October 2015
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